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US Defense Secretary Pete Hessith announced on Wednesday a reduction of generals and admirals in the armed forces by 20%, a move he said aims to "enhance accountability".
Hessith noted that the cuts targeted officers who did not keep pace with his efforts to ensure the military's focus on waging wars instead of "woke" policies, particularly those advocating for the rejection of all forms of discrimination.
Hessith said before military personnel at Quantico Base, "Experts in numbers say we have released 10% of generals and admirals across various branches of the armed forces," and added, "We have also reduced the total number of positions allocated for general-rank officers by an additional 10%," explaining that the total percentage was 20%.
The Washington Post and the Fox and ABC news networks, citing US officials, reported that Hessith would announce the new measures in a speech on Wednesday about the "state of the forces" at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia.
The speech came a year after a similar address to senior officers, in which Hessith said the US military was too bloated, overly focused on left-wing "woke" ideas, and in need of radical reform.
On Wednesday, he said that senior officers who "responded positively" to his previous speech "are now leading formations that are more focused and disciplined," while those who did not respond to him "are no longer working here".
Hessith added, "We are no longer the Ministry of Wokeness or the Ministry of Weakness".
He continued, "Simply: no obese, no transgender, no bearded, no eccentrics, no weaklings, no extremists. Only warriors... tough soldiers".
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